station72 | ( closed log ) sleepover

Entry tags:

( closed log ) sleepover

CHARACTERS: Aoba Seragaki (

vocalis ) and Steve Rogers (

decommission )
WHERE: Avera 9
WHEN: Day :161
SUMMARY: Minte accommodations offered to Aoba after getting the boot from Tari Town.
WARNINGS: None; will edit if necessary.

[ With a few days left in the trip supplies and money are starting to run a bit low. Steve arrives at Minte's Parlor with a stomach grumbling for dinner and a bit of a bad mood that even a ride on one of those spacebikes couldn't cure (he's getting the hang of it, at least). He doesn't mean to hang around the bar, not when he won't be buying anything - and not when he's been getting some less than pleasant looks from the patrons since the night before.

A blue head of hair gets him to stop before he reaches the stairs. Stands out, even if he doesn't know the guy too well yet. He pauses, hand on the rail and bititng his tongue before he calls out. No need to get everyone looking at them. Instead, Steve approaches Aoba, frowning a bit. ]

Hey. [ A glance at the bar, and - making the assumption Aoba's here for dinner, he whispers: ] Food's not really good here.

[ It takes a lot for him to say that. A lot, a lot.

Better to spend his notes on rations. ]

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[ His frown deepens, eyebrows knitting together. ]

Lost 'em how? [ Not playing dumb, there's no surprise in his tone. At that moment a Bari shoves through the space between them with a hostile grunt, continuing on its way to the bar without so much as a glance over its shoulder. ]

I don't even- hey!

[ The Bari makes their way through the too-small space between them, forcing Aoba to back away from the bar and the menu screen to make room. It's step aside or get scratched by one of the slender spikes along its scaly arms. It grunts, and surprisingly Aoba is quick to match it with a small growl of his own. ]

Watch where you're going!

[ The Bari seems to ignore that at first, taking its time to settle at the bar. Only once its comfortable does one large orange eye roll in its socket and pin Aoba with a steady stare. But Aoba doesn't back down, fueled entirely on his own flaring temper and frustration. Hands curl to fists, ready for a fight if it comes, ready to open his mouth again and say another stupid thing- ]

[ Steve nearly catches an elbow as he takes an abrupt step back, frowning at the Bari - then at Aoba's fists. A hand reaches out to the guy's shoulder and he gives a quick shake of his head, glancing around the rest of the bar. Some of the other patrons are starting to eye them.

Not the place to start a brawl. Even Steve knows that. ]

I got a room upstairs. Stashed some food there. [ Inclining his chin toward the staircase. His grip is firm enough to imply that he's not going to take no for an answer, or at least he's not going to leave Aoba down here alone. ]

[ Aoba also knows this isn't the place for a fight. It's the hand on his shoulder that reminds him, and a glance around at the growing stares that makes him freeze. This is bad, too much like the start of a Rhyme game. He's put that behind him. It's a few beats after Steve's words register that he takes a deep breath. Reluctantly unclenches his hands with an exhale. ]

Alright.

[ It's low, meant only for Steve to hear. His eyes are still fixed on the Bari for a beat, one more red-rimmed glare before he turns in the direction indicated. He doesn't shake the hand off, walking cooly and calmly as he can away from the scene and pulling his bag up on his other shoulder.

It isn't until they're up the first flight of stairs, just slightly more away from the hushed voices and backwards glances that followed them up, that he says anything else. Even then, it's still quiet, still laced with frustration. ]

Hey... thanks for stopping me.

[ Steve lets out a breath (relief), ignoring the low rumble of hisses that comes from the bar. Might be laughter, but it's hard to tell.

He leads the way up the stairs, a slight limp as he pulls himself up each step. At the thanks he turns to glance at Aoba briefly, quick to shake his head in a don't worry about it way. His gaze fixes on the bag slung over Aoba's shoulder, mouth twisting to one side as he turns away again to the next landing, approaching a door just down the hall. ]

I might've had something to do with - [ jerking his chin down the stairs ] - that. [ One hand digs through his pocket for a key card, his voice still low. ] Had some trouble with a Bari merchant in Tari Town yesterday.

[ Aoba follows just behind, a good part of him still seething, but he's not so distracted as to not notice that limp. Had he hurt himself while salvaging? Aoba isn't getting much off him from the connection, faint as it is being from outside his brood. This guy is really good at keeping himself closed off. Maybe because... ]

Wait...

[ He fixes the back of Steve's head with a thin glare, temper rising again. ]

Were you the reason I got kicked out of my hotel there?

[ No outrage like there nearly was downstairs, but his lips are drawn in a straight line and he's looking pretty annoyed. The key card clicks and door swings open but he doesn't step inside, dirty boots planted stubbornly in the the narrow hallway. ]

[ A hand raises to rub at the back of his neck, meeting Aoba's gaze with a guarded look. His shoulders slump a bit. ]

Probably - it's a long story. [ Not one he seems to want to get into, partially since it'd involve naming names. After a brief pause he tries for the abridged version: ] We went to meet with the merchant there and he, uh, tried to swindle us out of some maps we were trying to sell. Got kinda messy. [ At that his expression turns somber, a short flash of deep red anger tied to something heavier flashing past his growing mental walls. He shakes his head, the sensation gone. He eyes the room and then Aoba again. ]

Sorry, didn't mean to get anyone thrown outta town. If you need a room for the next few days, I don't mind bunking up.

[ At that he steps out of the way of the doorway. He can toss a blanket and pillow on the floor for himself. ]

[ For a moment Aoba still stands firm on the outside. It may be a long story but the details are too vague, a thin disguise to avoid naming names in the small group of hosts here. ]

Got messy?

[ Steve is acting apologetic without being direct which, culturally, is not something he's used to. However, if it's a matter of bad luck and happenstance that got them swindled and tossed out, there's not much to apologize for. But then that hint of red hot anger flows over the dam built between their minds, and it's instantly familiar to Aoba. He felt it that first day on the station from one host in particular, one he knows the name of but cares not to say. ]

Were you with that guy? I guess that explains it...

[ That more than explains it. That guy is a piece of work. Something in Aoba's posture finally relaxes as he slips the packed bag off his shoulder and sets it in the doorway. He still wears a cranky expression, but he's also quite suddenly willing to be more forgiving. If Steve were stuck working with him, or worse, stuck in the same brood, then of course things got messy. He bends down to remove his shoes before stepping inside, not wanting to track dried mud into the clean space. ]

Whatever happened, I'm not happy about being kicked out of Tari, but... thanks for the offer. But... he's not going to show up here, is he?

[ Surprise flickers across his expression. Steve's all ready to keep dancing around the details until Aoba comes at him with that second question. Does he mean Ren? There aren't many folks in their group that might elicit a reaction like that - he thinks.

He straightens where he stands, struck with a faint, irrational desire to defend Ren railing against frustrations with his broodmate. The former doesn't exacly coalesce into words. His jaw clenches and he lets out a sharp breath, shaking his head again. ]

Don't think so. [ About Ren turning up here. He watches Aoba absently for a second, caught between two opposite trains of thought, then bends down to remove his own boots. The room itself is little more than a large closet - he nods at a bag in the corner. ] Got ration bars in there.

[ They don't taste like much either. He stands again. ] You been having much luck with the salvaging?

[ Ahh, small talk. ]

[ The room is no smaller than what he'd expect of a cheap hotel, here on a tiny alien world or back on Midorijima. He'd never been to the mainland, but he can imagine it'd be considered spacious by Tokyo standards.

He doesn't say anything else regarding his implications towards Kylo Ren. No uttered sigh of 'good' or overflowing sense of relief. He just drops it, no desire to waste any more breath or thought on him. So small talk it is.

He notes the bag in the corner with a nod but doesn't help himself to it yet, not wanting to seem rude or desperate. Instead he opens his own bag and pulls out a blanket... actually it's a thick roll of uncut textile, bright and shimmering with pattern of varying star shapes. He just intends to use it as a blanket on the floor for now, along with the other rolls he's yet to unpack. ]

Not really. I mostly just found these fabrics and some old computers, but I've been getting good prices. If you think you're getting swindled again, you should reach for me. I'm pretty good at upselling.

[ A byproduct of Scrap, his voice is naturally compelling when he wants to be convincing. But he also has a few years of junk sales under his belt, and that doesn't hurt. ]

I'm Aoba by the way. Aoba Seragaki. I don't think I got your name.

Thanks. [ For the offer. He's not sure what else they'll find in the next couple of days. He just knows he doesn't want to bring Ren again.

The door shuts behind them and he moves toward the pod-like bed space - mostly to get out of Aoba's way, a difficult endeavor in a room made for one person. Right, names. ]

Steve. Steve Rogers. [ He turns to offer a hand, meeting Aoba's gaze before giving a quick glance at the blanket. It's nice looking and all for something they scavenged - his eyebrows raise and he shakes his head. ] You can put it on the bed. The floor'll be good for my back.

[ He rolls his shoulders. ] We didn't find anything like that, just some metals and - [ a brief pause as he searches for the word ] - datacards. A bunch of computer files. That's where our map came from - the rest of it points to some abandoned base, but I don't know that we'll have a chance to go looking into to it.

[ He's got to meet with Angel again about something else. ]

Yeah, I guess we don't have that much time left here. Maybe you should, though. I found a data card too, it led me to finding these.

[ Aoba continues to fuss with the textile as he talks, doubling it over to make it a little thicker. Even the swaths of fabric he'd recovered were a little too big for the rented room. ]

Are you sure about the bed?

[ He'd slept on the tatami mats in Koujaku's old home before, he'd be perfectly comfortable with some blankets on the ground. Besides, he remembers something else, which he points out with a tilt of his head to Steve's knee. ]

What about your leg? Sorry, I didn't pry, I just... noticed you were limping on the way up. Are you alright?

[ There might be time to give the maps a shot, even if they don't get that far into the base. The datacards hadn't even really explained what was going on down there...

He nods again to the question about the bed before glancing down at his leg with a frown. ] It's fine. I, uh, got stepped on by a Bari.

[ Sharp claws digging into his leg as he played human ladder for Karlon.

As if to prove his mobility he shuffles over to the bag, grabbing two ration bars. One gets held out to Aoba. ]

[ Aoba winces a little with a quiet ouch muttered sympathetically. Probably something else that happened while things were getting 'messy'... but Steve already made it clear he didn't want to elaborate, and Aoba doesn't really need the gruesome details.

He takes the offered bar with a short thanks and sits down on one end of the sleeping pod with it, folding in his legs to take up less space. He's hungry, but he doesn't tear into it right away. Instead he flips it over, skimming the back of the packaging for an ingredients list, and pulls out the small folded square of his datapad. Opens the translation program Angel had helped him with and holds it over the package so he can read what's in it. ]

Sucralose... fractioned shuura kernel oil? Something... protein isolate... wheat ger- damn.

[ This day just keeps getting better. Aoba sighs, sheepishly handing the bar back. ]

Sorry... before the mission, Cathaway-san told me to avoid eating anything with gluten in it.

[ He's not mad, just... still frustrated. At least it's not Steve or Castor brood's fault that gluten exists in everything, even in space. ]

[ He takes the bar back with a frown, flipping it over to stare at the alien text on the back. ]

Gluten? [ Clearly he's never heard of it before from the questioning look he shoots Aoba. ] You got food allergies?

[ Those could be bad. He's not really supposed to eat some kinds of seafood for that reason. ]

It's wheat.

[ Aoba answers that look with a shrug. How is one of Earth's most common staples infecting even the outer reaches of space? Does gluten's contaminant know no bounds? ]

Not food allergies exactly...

[ How does he explain. It's still a new concept for him too, and not something the hospital he was in before tried in order to cure his headaches. But that hospital was poor and outdated, and Cathaway had sounded like she had some better solutions. ]

I get frequent headaches, but I've never known the cause. I'm supposed to be avoiding anything with gluten in it to see if that helps. I don't want my headaches effecting my brood too, you know?

[ Another small sigh escapes him, this one more resigned than frustrated. ]

I'll probably just rest here a while and find something a little later.

[ His mouth forms a silent 'oh', understanding coloring his features (he doesn't intend to pry into someone else's medical issues). The rest is a surprise to him too - that something so common back home would be equally so here of all places. ]

Wheat really can do that?

[ The bar gets tossed back to the bag and he glances at the door. He assumes Aoba means he wants to lie down, presumably without someone rustling around in what little space they've got to move. ]

What've you been eating? I can head out real quick. Pick something up.

Yeah, apparently it's got a lot of negative effects on humans... eh, humanoids.

[ That's what Cathaway had said anyway. Once he's back on the station, he's got to do more research on this himself. Get Ren back up and running and do a few searches to learn more about his new diet and if he really needs to continue it. ]

Mostly grilled meats and vegetables- [ the street food in Tari had seemed mostly safe, but he'd rather not mention it, not make it worse ] -anything resembling rice... please don't worry about it though.

[ Steve's been too kind and Aoba has been nothing but a crabby, whiny roommate so far. At least he's aware. He's got a temper, but he knows how to put a lid on it better than... others. He'd be better after sleeping off the headache that's threatening to start, maybe take some of the pills he'd been sent with. ]

You've already done enough with letting me stay here.

[ Humanoids? He wonders what counts.

A hand raises to rub at the back of his neck. Meats and vegetables - he could go for that himself. Most of the food around Minte wasn't all that fresh, considering everyone but the Stone people were heading out soon, but you put enough sauce and salt on something (or grill it out of existence) and you can get around thinking what it might do to your stomach later.

He tips his head at the door. ]

Well, I'm gonna head back out for a bit anyway - [ there's a faint pull from one of his links, the new one (about time he went to speak to her) ] - maybe we can get a bite to eat when I get back. [ It'd be better for them to go walking through the market together ~~as he prepares to walk out on his own~~. ]

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( closed log ) sleepover

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